STALIN S RUSSIA AT WAR

Transcription

1 Prof. Charters Wynn HIS 350L: Office: GAR Spring 2014 Phone: CLA 2.606: WF 2-3:15 Office Hours: Monday & Tuesday 2-3 & by Appointment STALIN S RUSSIA AT WAR It was the Russians who tore the guts out of the German Army. - Winston Churchill Course Description: Violence, famine, and epidemic disease took more than fifty million Soviet lives between 1914 and Over half of these deaths occurred between 1941 and 1945, when the Soviet Union fought the most savage and immense war in history. No other nation ever endured anything like it. The Soviets defeated the invading Axis powers despite the purge of the military leadership in 1937, horrible mistakes at the outset of the war, and widespread hostility within the country to the Stalinist regime. We will focus on the impact of the Stalinist state s attempt to transform the nation into an industrial power, terror against its own people, the death and destruction during the German occupation, as well as the courage and barbarism in the fight to the death on the Eastern Front, especially during the Battles of Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Kursk, and Berlin. Evaluating the role of Stalin (or Uncle Joe as the American and British public knew him) and his inner circle, as well as what the Stalinist Revolution and Great Patriotic War meant for ordinary Soviets, will be of particular concern. 1

2 Grading: This course contains a substantial writing component. During the course of the semester students will write three critical analyses of assigned reading, five pages in length each. In addition, by 9:30 a.m. on most class days, students will me three questions dealing with that day s reading. You will also write a peer review on each of the three essays. The final grade is based on both the written assignments (50% essays; 10% questions; peer review, 5%) and the extent and quality of classroom participation (30%). Late papers/questions will be penalized. While NSP rules permit students three unexcused absences, in this discussion-based seminar any unexcused absences will negatively impact the class participation grade. *Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from Services for Students with Disabilities, *For an explanation of academic dishonesty, students should consult the Office of Student Judicial Services at Writing Tips: 1. You are encouraged to discuss the topic with classmates but the essay you write must be your own work. 2. State your argument in your opening paragraph. Do so quickly and concisely and as forcefully as possible. 3. Support your argument by specific references to evidence from the readings. Also confront the opposing argument and state your reasons for rejecting it. 4. The topic sentence of each of your supporting paragraphs should state the aspect of the topic you wish to discuss. 5. Use the last paragraph to summarize your argument briefly. Let it mirror your first paragraph. 6. Avoid excessive or unnecessary detail. You are writing for an audience (me) who knows what happened and has done the reading. 7. Quote to add punch. Do not quote often or use long quotations. 8. Avoid the passive voice. Write about the past in the past tense. 9. Try to write as simply and directly as possible. Omit needless words. 10. Your essay, due at the beginning of class, must be typed, double-spaced, spellchecked, and grammatically correct. Texts: John Scott, Behind the Urals. Lydia Chukovskaya, Sofia Petrovna. Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon. Alexander Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Richard Overy, Russia s War. Catherine Merridale, Ivan s War. Geoffrey Roberts, Victory at Stalingrad. Elena Kozhina, Through the Burning Steppe Course Packet. An asterisk next to a reading in the weekly schedule indicates a selection from the Packet. The Packet is available from Paradigm, 407 W. 24 th St., #Online: Download or Read Online at University of Texas Libraries 2

3 WEEKLY SCHEDULE WEEK ONE: Introduction Wednesday, January 15 Film Clip: Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia Friday, January 17 Reading: Merridale, 1-22 Overy xi-xxi #Naimark, Stalin s Genocides, 1-29 WEEK TWO: Revolutionary Russia and the Rise of Stalin Wednesday, January 22 Reading: *Brooks & Chernyavskiy, 1-31 Father Gapon s Petition (Handout) Overy, 1-12 Friday, January 24 Reading: Overy, #Naimark, Stalin s Genocides, Film: The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin WEEK THREE: Forced Collectivization & Famine Wednesday, January 29 Reading: Overy, 16-17, *Hindus, Red Bread Friday, January 31 Reading: #Naimark, Dekulakization & The Holodomor Film: Harvest of Despair WEEK FOUR: Breakneck Industrialization Wednesday, February 5 Reading: Scott, ix-92 Overy, Merridale, Friday, February 7 Reading: Scott, ,

4 WEEK FIVE: The Great Terror Wednesday, February 12: Essay #1 Due Reading: Overy, *Conquest, The Kirov Murder *Knight, 1 December: The Murder *Leone, Did Stalin Kill Kirov and Does It Matter? *Getty, Growing Tension in 1935 Friday, February 14 Reading: Chukovskaya, WEEK SIX: Fear and Belief in the Terror Wednesday, February 19 Reading: Overy, Merridale, Scott, Discussion of Film: Burnt by the Sun Friday, February 21 Reading: * Bukharin s Letter to Stalin Koestler, 1-96 WEEK SEVEN: From Interrogation to the Gulag Wednesday, February 26 Essay #2 Due Reading: Koestler, Friday, February 28 Reading: Solzhenitsyn WEEK EIGHT: How War Came Wednesday, March 5 Reading: Overy, Roberts, Merridale, Film Clip: The Hour before Midnight Friday, March 7 Reading: Overy, Merridale, Film Clip: The Goths Ride East 4

5 *** SPRING BREAK *** WEEK NINE: Siege of Leningrad and Battle of Moscow Wednesday, March 19 Reading: Overy, *Lincoln, Nine Hundred Days *Bidlack, Survival Strategies Friday, March 21 Reading: Overy, Merridale, Roberts, Film Clip: Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia WEEK TEN: War of Annihilation Wednesday, March 26 Reading: Overy, Merridale, Roberts, Friday, March 28 Reading: Kozhina WEEK ELEVEN: The Battle of Stalingrad Wednesday, April 2 Reading: Overy, Roberts, Merridale, Friday, April 4 Reading: Overy Roberts, Merridale, Discussion of film: Stalingrad WEEK TWELVE: The Battle of Kursk and False Dawn Wednesday, April 9 Reading: Overy, Roberts, Merridale, Film Clip: The Citadel 5

6 Friday, April 11 Reading: Overy, Merridale, Roberts, Discussion of film: Come and See WEEK THIRTEEN: Victory and the Red Army in German Wednesday, April 16 Reading: Overy, Merridale, Roberts, *Naimark, The Problem of Rape Discussion of Film: A Woman in Berlin Friday, April 18 NO CLASS EASTER WEEKEND WEEK FOURTEEN: Post-War Russia Wednesday, April 23 Reading: Overy, Merridale, Film clip: The Fall of Berlin Friday, April 25: Essay #3 Due WEEK FIFTEEN Students prepare for the three-week extension of the course (May 4-26) in London, Normandy, Berlin, Cracow, and Warsaw. 6